Universities working on project to separate oil, water

Sunday

Jan 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM

With the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig April 20, 2010 came one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history.

Alan MatherneLSU AgCenter

With the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig April 20, 2010 came one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history.As the rig sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, more than 200 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf. Additionally, millions of gallons of dispersant were used in the clean-up process. That same year, Michigan experienced a similar disaster, which unleashed 843,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River.Consequently, Michigan State University and Louisiana State University are working together, with an EPA grant, to design and implement a cost-efficient device that separates oil and water. The device will not only separate the oil and water, but it will allow safely and legally put that water back into the environment, as well as recycle the oil.The official title of the project is “Affinity-based hydrocyclone filter for oil-water separation and oil spill cleanup,” but you can refer to it as the “MSU/LSU oil-water separation device project” for now. Michigan scientists, under the direction of Volodymyr Tarabara, will over a three-year period develop, test and eventually implement the device. Officials with LSU will work with MSU to ensure that the technologies used to produce the device are made available to whoever may need them. The university will also provide outreach and facilitate input from coastal residents concerning the device development and implementation.The treatment device that’s eventually produced by Tarabara and his team will combine crossflow filtration and hydrocyclonic, or swirling-flow, separation to de-oil water, resulting in recovery of both recyclable oil and safe, clean water. Officials in the LSU AgCenter/Louisiana Sea Grant program will provide the outreach component for the project.The state wants the public involved in this process and to understand how the device can help in the clean-up process during a future spill. In the final year of the project, LSU scientists expect to hold demonstrations of the device and provide hands-on learning opportunities.This technology could have a positive effect on the environment, and scientists are very excited about the potential benefits. It directly affects Louisiana and Michigan, but it could also eventually be applied as a nationwide project to combat future spills.Tarabara and his associates will present the project at the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference scheduled to begin Monday and continue through Wednesday in New Orleans. For information concerning the conference, visit www.gulfofmexicoconference.org. For information concerning the project presentation, visit www.program.gulfofmexicoconference.org/2012/affinitybased-hydrocyclone-filter-for-oilwater-separation-and-oil-spill-cleanup.In addition to the scientific presentations at the conference, a public forum, “Current Status of the Gulf of Mexico,” is scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Admission to the conference is free, but space is limited and registration is required. You can register by going to gulfofmexicoconference.org/program/related-events/registration-public-forum-on-gulf-of-mexico-oil-spill-and-ecosystem-science.For information about the MSU/LSU oil-water separation device project as it develops, follow bayoulog.com. Information about the new project blog, meetings, social media, fact sheets, etc., will be posted shortly.

Alan Matherne is the LSU AgCenter’s area fisheries and coastal issues agent for Terrebonne, Lafourche and Assumption parishes. He can be reached at 873-6495 or amatherne@agcenter.lsu.edu. You can read his articles and blogs at bayoulog.com. Friend him on Facebook at facebook.com /profilephp?id= 100001785563037 and follow him on Twitter @amatherne.